Seventeen children who had come for a film audition in the Powai area of Mumbai were rescued on Thursday after being held hostage by a man, who in a chilling video message identified himself as Rohit Arya and warned the authorities "not to trigger" him. The accused was arrested after a swift police operation that ended the tense standoff.
As per an NDTV report, the officials said, the children had gathered at RA Studios, situated on the ground floor of a residential building, when the suspect locked them inside. Mumbai Police acted swiftly after Arya's video went online to ensure all children were evacuated safely within hours.
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‘I am not a terrorist,’ says the accused in a video message
In his recorded statement, Arya said he had opted for hostage-taking as against suicide in order "to force conversations" with unnamed individuals. " I am Rohit Arya. Instead of dying by suicide, I have made a plan and am holding some children hostage here," he said, asserting that his demands were " simple, moral, ethical.” He warned that " the slightest wrong move from you will trigger me," and threatened to set the studio on fire, while insisting he was "not a terrorist."
In the video, the accused said, “I want simple conversations, and that's why I've taken these children hostage. I've held them hostage as part of a plan. If I live, I'll do it; if I die, someone else will, but it will definitely happen because the slightest wrong move from you will trigger me to set this whole place on fire and die in it.”
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Strategic entry to end the standoff
According to the NDTV report, the police received a distress call around 1:45 pm and tried to negotiate with Arya. When the talks failed, the officers gained entry through a bathroom passage and managed to rescue the hostages. An air gun and some chemicals were recovered from the site. Authorities said the motive behind Arya's actions remains under investigation. All 17 children are reported to be safe and have been reunited with their families.
